Pity Party
by SoI'llKillYou
Summary: Lincoln chaperones Lucy on her way to an emo party. They get together to vent their frustrations, share their problems. Lucy might fit in amongst these kids, but she may find that she's not the only one with feelings to get off their chest.


**This story was a collaborative effort between myself and Twisteddarkness225  
We both hope you enjoy it**

Lincoln ran up the stairs and down the hall, heading into his room. He had a tightly wrapped package cradled safely in his arms. After he shut the door behind him, he unwrapped the package, wildly tearing the cardboard to pieces in order to get at what was inside. A bright green video game cartridge, just big enough to fit into the center of his palm.

"Finally" he said, his voice trembling with excitement "The greatest show ever in video game form. After four and a half months of waiting, I finally have my copy of ARGGH:The Video Game!"

He pulled his game player off his dresser and inserted the cartridge "Fourteen levels of ghost hunting, haunted house searching, other-side fighting AWESOMENESS!. And I have the whole weekend to myself to play!" Lincoln said gleefully as he sat down on his bed "No sports, no pageants,and no birthday parties or concerts either! Nothing but me and my..."

"Hey Lincoln." said Lucy, who was lying back on his bed with her arms crossed over her chest.

Lincoln shouted in surprise, nearly dropping his video game. "...little sister Lucy." he said with a hand clutching at his heart.

"I have a favor to ask you." Lucy said, sitting up slowly in his bed.

Lincoln groaned internally. He had a pretty good idea where this was going. But all the same, he had to ask.

"What's the favor?"

"I'm going to a party today. Or at least I want to, but mom says I need someone older to take me and be my chaperone. She said you would be okay since you're old enough."

"Wait." Lincoln said, one of his eyebrows raising up. "You're going to a party? I didn't think that was your sort of thing."

"Well it's not that kind of party. It's more of a pity party."

"Pity party?" Lincoln repeated "What's a pity party?"

Lucy reached into her pocket, pulling out a dark gray piece of paper which she handed to Lincoln. It was some sort of invitation,decorated with purple broken hearts and blue teardrops.

"You're cordially invited to my Pity Party." Lincoln read on the front before opening it up. The inside had a bit of text that was written as a short poem.

 _"It's a place where you can feel free,_  
 _To wallow in your misery._  
 _Scream and cry, get angry or sad,_  
 _Because you'll never feel better if you don't feel bad"_

"It's just a get together where everyone talks about what makes them sad" Lucy said.

"Ohh, okay. Now that seems more like something you'd be into." Lincoln said knowingly as he looked over the invitation again, noticing something written below the poem. "B.Y.O.H? What does B.Y.O.H stand for?"

Lucy pulled a black, satin cloth embroidered with white skulls out of her pocket. "Bring your own hankie." she said before blowing her nose with a honking noise that sounded like a dying goose "After a rough week at school, these guys go through tissues really quickly."

Lincoln handed the invite back to her. "But why me?" he asked, "What about our older sisters?"

"Lori and Leni are at the mall." the goth answered. "And I wouldn't ask Luna, Luan or Lynn. They'd just try to make the party 'better' by doing things their way. And this isn't a party for games, jokes or loud music. So that just leaves you."

Lincoln thought it over for a moment, but then shook his head.

"Sorry, but I've already got plans for today." He told his younger sibling, holding up his game.

"Please Lincoln?"

"Why can't you just go by yourself?"

"SIGH. Because I'll be the youngest one there and like I said, mom wants me to have a chaperone. All the other kids are teens."

Lincoln mulled it over for another few moments, but still didn't concede to her request. Lucy let out another sigh and stood up, stepping closer to him. She lifted one hand and positioned it by her dark bangs, her fingers sliding beneath them.

"Okay, you've left me no choice."

Lucy lifted her bangs away from her face, exposing her eyes to her older brother. Lincoln then found himself met with a puppy dog pout that froze him in place. It couldn't be helped, his sister's eyes were hidden so he often forgot just how expressive they could be, leaving him virtually defenseless. Even if he averted his eyes, it was already too late for him to forget that uncharacteristically adorable look on his little sister's face.

"DANG IT!" He cried as he caved in. "Okay, you win! When does the party start?"

"In about a half of an hour." Lucy said, letting her bangs fall back into place. "And it's okay if you bring your game. I don't expect you to participate if you don't want to."

"I'll be downstairs in a bit" Lincoln said. "Wait for me, Okay?"

Lucy nodded wordlessly and left his room. Lincoln headed over to his dresser, grabbing a set of headphones and his charger cable. Lincoln looked at his game and gave an exasperated sigh. He may not have been able to play in his bed while in his underwear like he originally planned, but at least he'd still get to play it.

After making sure he had everything he needed, he went downstairs where Lucy was waiting. They went outside and got into Vanzilla with their mother who drove them to the house where the party was being held.

"Now I'll be counting on you to watch out for your sister, Lincoln" Rita said as they got out of Vanzilla.

"Don't worry mom." Lincoln said. "I'll watch her like a hawk."

"How reassuring." Lucy said, once again sneaking up on him.

Lincoln yelped in surprise again. "Or maybe more like an owl." he said "So I can turn my head 360 degrees and always look behind me."

"Have fun kids." Rita said before driving away.

They walked up to the door. Lucy knocked as Lincoln looked around a bit.

"This place looks familiar." he thought. "Almost like I've been here before..."

The door swung open revealing a sour looking girl in a blue t-shirt, a dark blue skirt and with a purple jumper wrapped around her waist. She cocked an eyebrow at the pale child in black.

"Hey Lucy." Maggie said "Glad you could make it."

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world." Lucy said. "But my mom wouldn't let me come without a chaperone so I had to bring my brother."

Maggie looked over at Lincoln who stared back at her blankly. "Aren't you that kid who performed at my birthday party?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, I was! So that's why this place looks so familiar" Lincoln said.

"You two know each other?" Lucy asked.

"Kinda." Maggie said. "He nearly wrecked my birthday party until he switched performing styles. He makes a lousy clown, but a pretty cute mime."

Lincoln's face turned bright red. "Uhh, thanks?"

"He already has a girlfriend, Maggie. Just so you know." Lucy said.

"Ronnie Anne isn't my girlfriend!" Lincoln said, his blush growing.

Maggie rolled her eyes and shook her head a little. "Does he really have to be here Lucy?"

"I know he won't really fit in with kids like us." Lucy said "But my mom wouldn't let me come without someone else. I promise he'll stay out of the way. He won't bother anyone. "

Maggie narrowed her eyes at Lincoln, who twitched under her gaze. "Normally, it's invite only." she said "But you're already here, so whatever. Come in, I guess."

Lucy and Lincoln stepped into Maggie's house and shut the door behind them. The inside of the home was not quite Lincoln expected. It was charming with a colorful interior complete with little homey touches such as pictures mounted on the walls, floral wallpaper, and cozy furniture set up in the living room. Lincoln could smell fresh cookies, the intoxicating aroma originating within the nearby kitchen. A middle aged woman, who Lincoln quickly recognized at Maggie's mother, stepped out of the kitchen with a plate full of the fresh treats.

"Maggie sweetie, is that the last of your little friends?"

"Yeah mom," the emo girl replied with a sigh, "They're all here. We'll be down in the basement for a while."

"Okay honeybunch, have fun! And here, take these with you. There still a little hot, so be careful!"

Maggie accepted the cookies from her mother and then led Lucy and Lincoln over to a door in the hallway. She opened it, revealing a set of stairs descending into an unfurnished basement. There was an immediate light change as the door was shut behind them, only an eerie purple light filling the otherwise dark space. And Lincoln could see other kids down there as well. Most of them were either brooding or sulking, all of them dressed in dark colored clothing. Many of them wore make-up and a few of them had dyed hair, nose, lip and/or ear piercings.

"Isn't is awesome?" Lucy asked in her usual monotone.

"Uh, yeah. I love the decorations." Lincoln said, trying to sound sincere.

The 'decorations' for the party consisted mainly of black streamers, balloons with sad faces drawn on them in marker, and dark lights set up in place of normal light bulbs. There was a music player on a table by the wall, sad music emanating from the device. And on the walls there was an assortment of posters, all of which had some sort of sad or angry saying on them such as "I'm not OK", and "Misery loves company". This was a setting that just screamed 'emo' to Lincoln. It was a place for them all to vent their frustrations and wallow in misery together, just as Lucy's invitation had said.

Lincoln was immediately grateful that he had brought his game and headphones along, this was not a place for him.

Maggie set the cookies down on another table in the basement, one that had soda and snacks and other things that Lincoln guessed were supposed to be 'comfort foods'. Their hostess then went over to the music player and turned the volume down before gaining the attention of all of her party goers.

"Now that we're all gathered here, we can get started. Everyone, seat yourself in the center of the room." Maggie said before briefly turning her attention to Lincoln. "And Lucy's brother, you can just do whatever over there."

She pointed to a corner nearby the snack table. Lincoln shrugged and went over to the corner, pulling out his game and plugging in the headphones. He heard Maggie ask for volunteers to express their pain and he quickly put the headphones over his ears and turned the game on. A smile came to his face as he saw the familiar logo of the AARGH! show and it's theme song sounded in his ears. The rest of the room was instantly forgotten and he was soon immersed in the first level.

"I'd like to welcome everyone to my Pity Party." Maggie said. "I'm glad you could all make it."

A girl with curly blonde hair stuffed in a purple beanie nodded her head. "After what happened to me yesterday I wasn't about to miss this." she said.

A boy with a head of bushy black hair and a crooked tooth moved forward a little from his place seated on the floor. "I've been looking forward to this all week."

"As you can all see." Maggie said "We have someone new with us today. Would you care to introduce yourself?"

Lucy stood up. "My name is Lucy Loud" she said flatly, "I'm 8 years old. It's nice to meet you all."

"How'd this kid get invited?" asked a boy with red streaks in his black hair.

"It was open mic night at my favorite cafe," Maggie said "Lucy was there. You wouldn't believe the heavyhearted poetry this kid can write."

"You're gonna make me blush." Lucy said as she sat back down hugging her knees.

"As soon as I heard her poems, I knew she must have some things to get off her chest." Maggie said, "So I offered her a chance to do it here. Lucy, do you wanna go first?"

Lucy shook her head "If it's OK with you, I think I'd like to go last."

"That's fine." Maggie said "I'll go first then."

"So let me guess, your mom again?" asked the boy with the red streaks.

"Exactly. You've all met her and you know what she's like."

The blonde girl shuddered, "She's way too nice and perky."

"Don't get me started Natalie. It's more annoying every day. And she's still calling me 'sweetie' and 'honeybunch' like I'm still a little kid. It's demeaning. Not to mention that she's so phony sometimes. Like she has to impress every other person she meets. And she's so supportive of my lifestyle. Which would be great if she didn't think I was going through a phase. I heard her talking to my dad about it and she said that I'd 'get it out of my system' soon enough. She doesn't get me at all."

"I hear you." Red streaks said. "My mom is the same."

"Thanks Marcus. Anyway, the worst part of it is that she doesn't give me my space. Every little thing I do is her business. Does she have to hover over me every time I want to go out, or have friends over? She won't even let me do my stupid homework without constantly checking in on me. It's like she doesn't trust me or whatever."

The group all nodded their heads in understanding, muttering in agreement. Lucy was able to sympathize a little. Although for her, it was her older sisters and not so much her parents, who were the problem. Her gaze shifted over to her brother for a moment before it returned to Maggie as she continued with her venting.

"And then there's my dad. He's way worse than mom. At least she doesn't try to run my life for me. I'll get home from school and if he's home he's all 'do your homework' or 'make sure to clean you room'. Can't I have a minute after having to be in school all day?

And then there's the extracurricular stuff. He tried to sign me up for the Bluebells when I was little, then he tried to make me join the cheerleading squad. Now he's riding my case to get me to start planning for college. I mean, hello, I'm still in Middle School! I have lots of time to think of that stuff and that's even if I go to college. It's almost like he doesn't want me around sometimes. Like he just can't wait for me to leave. Like he wants me gone."

Maggie went silent, slumping forward a little with a lone tear streaking down her cheek. Natalie placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle pat. She then stood up and went to get a cookie for Maggie, who started to nibble at it slowly. After a few more moments, Maggie sat upright again.

"Okay, who wants to go next?"

"I will." Marcus, the kid with the red streaks in his hair said. "Hearing about your dad kinda makes me think of mine. He keeps trying to make me sign up for sports, but I just don't like them. I've had to do baseball, football, soccer, hockey, tennis, even bowling. And I just can't get into any of them, so I quit. Then he just gets mad at me and makes it out like I'm the one to blame. I'm not asking him to sign me up for any of those dumb things and it's not my fault that he keeps spending the money on stuff for them. He doesn't even ask me if I want to do them, he just comes out and says I'm going to try it anyway. I really get the impression he doesn't like me the way I am. He wants me to be someone else. Someone to brag about to his friends. Someone he could be proud of."

"You can't choose your family, Marc" Natalie said "Believe me if I could've chosen my family members, I wouldn't have chosen my little brother."

The kids all groaned, having heard similar complaints from her before.

"What did he do this time?" Maggie asked.

"Where do I even start?" Natalie asked. "Yesterday he switched out my toothpaste for wasabi paste. He stole all my pens and replaced them with ones filled with disappearing ink, so at school nothing I wrote showed up on paper. He put rubber cement on our welcome mat so my favorite boots got stuck to it when I got home. He changed the lock for the door to my room so I had to go back outside and climb in the window to get in. And the window was booby trapped to dump pink paint on me when I came through!"

The kids all grumbled at that last remark. Lucy cringed at the thought of being soaked such a horribly bright and cheery color.

"Your brother has one sick sense of humor" she said and then quietly thought "Kinda reminds me of Luan."

"But that's not even the worst part." Natalie said angrily.

"What could be worse than all that?" Lucy asked.

The look of anger on Natalie's face dissolved away and was replaced by a look of utter misery. "It wasn't even a prank," she said as tears gathered in her eyes "That little idiot left the back door open and Onion ran away"

Natalie rubbed at her eyes, her purple eyeshadow smeared by her tears.

"Who's Onion" Lucy asked Marcus, who was seated to her left.

"Her pet kitten" Marcus said.

"Gasp! That's horrible!" Lucy monotoned.

"I spent all night looking for him." Natalie continued. "I was so scared about what might happen to him that...I couldn't even sleep!"

Natalie 's nose began to run as the tears continued to flow. Her hankie was completely soaked and stained with eyeshadow already, so Maggie held out a box of tissues she had just in case. Natalie took the entire box and went through a half dozen of them before she could finally get the tears to stop.

"Okay, I'm done now. Someone else can go next."

"I'll go." Said the emo youth with the curly black hair and crooked tooth. "Just going to take a sec to introduce myself to our newcomer first. Hey, my name is Francis. And I hate my Grandma."

"Wow," Lucy said. "What did she do?"

"Nothing much. Except she thinks I'm a devil-worshipping, troublemaking, waste of space!" Francis spitefully spat. "She just sees me for my outside! A guy can wear dark clothing without being some kind of monster! And she keeps harping my Dad to check my room to make sure I'm not smoking or drinking or other stuff like that! Plus she keeps trying to convert me back to Catholicism! Newsflash Grandma, I never stopped being Catholic!"

Francis stood up, clenching his fists tightly. He started to pace around the other kids seated on the floor, muttering angrily and cursing under his breath. After a minute he calmed down a bit and sat back down in his spot in the circle.

"Sorry about that, just been holding that in for a while. She's been especially aggravating lately."

"It's fine." Maggie said. "That's why we're all here. Anything else you need to share?"

"Yeah, just one more thing. Principal Huggins is a total nutjob. He gave my little sister detention for loitering on the school steps. She was waiting for my parents to pick her up! The guy needs to get a life!"

"Well at least your sisters' principal tries to do his job" said another boy "My principal is a lazy good for nothing. I've come to him with my problems over and over and things barely even change, it they even change at all."

The group turned to the boy. He was about Lynn's age, wearing a bluish-purple hoodie, black shorts and beaten up sneakers. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"What's wrong, Dennis?" Maggie asked "Is Hector is on your case, again?"

"Again?" Dennis said? "He never got off my case. Lectures don't stop him, detention doesn't stop him. Nothing stops him! He never leaves me alone."

Maggie shook her head. "Seriously, that guy needs to take a long walk off a short cliff." she said bitterly "Cracking a book isn't that hard. Why doesn't he just try and do his own homework instead of stealing yours?"

"Dennis is a straight-A student" Marcus said to Lucy. "His homework might as well be worth gold at our school"

"He doesn't actually steal my homework anymore." Dennis said "The teachers got wise and started failing him when they recognized my handwriting under his name. Now Hector just shakes me down in the morning so he can copy it."

"Why don't you try sabotaging him?" Natalie suggested "You know, writing down all the wrong answers so he'll fail anyway."

"I actually tried that yesterday" Dennis said "But when he saw his grade he actually looked at the answers and figured out that I tricked him so..."

Dennis stood up and lifted his hoodie, revealing a fist sized bruise on his belly that was nearly the same color as the hoodie itself

"...he did this to me."

Many of the kids winced at the sight of the nasty bruise. Dennis carefully pulled his hoodie back down and he sat back, propping himself up with his hands.

"Hurts when I sit down and it hurts when I stand back up too. I can't even let my parents know about it because then they'll get involved and if Hector gets in trouble for it, then he's just gonna do it again. Or worse."

"That sucks." Marcus said. "It's a shame no one saw it happen. I'd have stood up for you."

"Same." Natalie added. "I would've recorded it with my phone and you could show it to the cops. See how tough Hector is against them."

"No good." Dennis sighed. "His dad is a cop. And not one of the better ones. But maybe if I'm lucky he'll get expelled one day."

A girl with a nose stud and black lipstick laughed. "That idiot would probably love not having to go to school anymore. But yeah, I hope that the jerk gets kicked out of school. All bullies should. They don't do anything but cause problems because they're either insecure or just rotten inside."

"Having your own bully issues again Emily?" Maggie asked.

"As always." Emily answered. "A girl can't even read her favorite book series without getting judged by some preppy, pretty girl. I swear if that little witch Trisha mocks me for thinking vampires are hot one more time, I'm going to hang her by her ponytail out the second story of the school."

"You like vampires too?" Lucy asked.

"The Vampires of Melancholia. Been a huge Edwin fan for a while now. But apparently it's wrong to like a fictional character. So excuse me for thinking a dark, mysterious man is more appealing than the plethora of losers who would date a 'real woman'. Any girl can get a guy when she dresses like a hussy. At least Edwin cares for personality."

"Yeah, that is one of his best qualities." Lucy said with a soft blush. "My sisters tease me for liking him too."

"I wish my sister only teased me." Emily said. "She's two years older and acts like she's the best thing in the world. There isn't one darn day when she doesn't rub it in my face that she's had a real boyfriend. Or to be more accurate, three boyfriends in three different relationships. All of which lasted less than a week."

Lucy shook her head "Hasn't your sister heard of quality over quantity?" she said

"No!" Emily said "And she's always ragging on me for not finding a boyfriend. Is it really so bad that I like my solitude? That maybe I don't want a boyfriend right now?"

"Or maybe ever." Maggie muttered under her breath.

"Seriously" Emily said with a note of sadness detectable in her voice "She used be nice to me all the time. She liked hanging out with me, talking to me, just being with me. But now it's just like she doesn't want me around. Or just wants someone she can put down or feel superior to. I mean...is it so much to ask for a little support from my big sister? "

Lucy twitched as she looked over at Lincoln. As if he could sense her gaze on him, he looked up from his game, smiled, and gave her a thumbs up. She felt a sudden warmth in the pit of her stomach.

"I'm glad that at least one person at my house always has my back." Lucy thought.

Emily coughed a few times as a lump formed in her throat. Maggie walked over to the snack table, pulled a large cooler out from under it, and kicked it open revealing several different kinds of soda on ice.

"Thirsty?" she asked.

"Lemonade if you have it" Emily requested.

Maggie tossed her a can of lemonade, which she chugged down to wash away the tightness in her throat. Maggie grabbed a plate of cookies and handed them out to her friends, dragging the cooler behind her so everyone could choose something to drink. When Maggie took her place back in the circle, she turned to Lucy.

"So are you ready to share?" Maggie asked.

Lucy shook her head "If it's alright with you" she said "I think I'd just like to let everyone else keep going. I have a bit to say and want to get every little thing out all at once when everyone else is done."

"That's fine." Maggie said "You share when you feel comfortable. So who's next?"

As the next person in the group went to share their complaints with the others, Lincoln was busily attempting to finish the next level in his new game. He became captivated with the gameplay and soon completed the first level. And then the next one and then the next one. Before he knew it, he had killed a full hour and a half. It was only because he noticed that his game's battery was beginning to run low that he stopped playing it altogether. Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out his game charger and sought out the nearest electrical outlet. But as far as he could see, there wasn't one nearby.

"Guess I'll just have to ask. Hope they don't mind being interrupted" He thought to himself as he removed his headphones.

"You have HOW many sisters?!" Lincoln heard Natalie gasp in shock.

"Nine of them." Lucy answered. "Five older sisters. Four younger. And my big brother."

Dennis let out a low whistle. "That's a lot of siblings. Your house must be chaotic."

"You don't know the half of it. We all share one bathroom." Lucy said, earning several more gasps. "And all of my sisters can be pretty judgmental, or at least opinionated. My little sister Lola is a pageant princess and obsesses over appearances. Needless to say that she comments on my choice of clothes almost every day. And my other little sister Lisa is always correcting me or mocking my belief in spirits and magic."

"How old is she?" asked Natalie.

"Only four, but she's a certified genius and not afraid to flaunt her superiority to the rest of us. And that's just my younger sisters. My older ones can be even more of a pain. My oldest sister Lori is the only one of us who can drive and if you want to go anywhere you have to do her a favor first. I've written love poems for her boyfriend more times than I care to count."

Maggie pretended to gag a little. Lincoln smiled at the action. He could relate since he witnessed Lori's lovey-dovey behavior on a daily basis. But more than anything else, he was intrigued by his younger sister's sudden openness with her feelings. She usually kept to herself at home. This was new to him. He stood just a short distance from all of the others, his eyes on his sister and his game completely forgotten.

"And my older sister Lynn is practically my opposite." Lucy continued. "I'm quiet and shy. Dark and spooky. She's always active. Full of confidence and popular enough to have a lot more friends than I do. She's always lecturing me because of how 'weird' I am. She tells me to smile more, to stop reading and writing poems and to go outside to get some sun. It gets to be really annoying sometimes. Once I even kicked her out of our room because I just couldn't stand it anymore. We made up, but I still feel like she doesn't understand me. None of my sisters do. I feel like an outcast in my own family."

Emily sighed heavily, "I hear that" she said sadly.

"And the noise." Lucy said as she reflexively brought her hands to her ears. "I hate all the noise! I mean, I can't be mad at my youngest sister Lily, she's a baby. She can't help but cry from time to time. But the twins Lola and Lana are always arguing. And my big sister Luna loves rock music. I can't go half an hour without her blasting Mick Swagger or shredding on her guitar. It's so hard to concentrate on my poems or read anything with so little peace and quiet."

Lincoln nodded his head. He had so much trouble finding solitude in their house. Trying to find a good place to read a comic book or work on a model was practically impossible.

"Makes me glad I kept those Noise-B-Gone earbuds" he thought.

"And my big sister, Luan" Lucy said with a shuddering groan "I'm pretty sure you could look up the word "annoying" and find a picture of her. The lame jokes, the horrible puns, the pranks. On April Fools Day she booby traps our house and we have to hide from her to keep from getting caught in the crossfire"

Lincoln shuddered as he remembered taking every prank that Luan had set up last April 1st.

"Kinda reminds me of my little sister" Francis said "She's a real clown...seriously...she's a clown. Ever since she started at clown school she doesn't even answer to her own name anymore. She goes by Giggles now. She's always juggling anything she can get her hands on, cracking lame jokes, I've lost count of how many times she's used a joy buzzer on me."

"That sounds exacyly like Luan" Lucy said.

"I love that chubby little squirt with everything I am" Francis said. "But she can be really obnoxious sometimes. What can you do? They're your family."

"I know. But sometimes I can't help but wonder what it would be like if I was an only child. Although, if I had to choose just one sister I could keep, it would be Leni. She is the second oldest and I doubt she has a mean bone in her body. Even if she does something wrong, she always apologizes for it. Not that she isn't without her faults. She's not exactly...the smartest person I know. It's not that she's doing it on purpose, but it does get old, really fast."

Lincoln nodded again. Leni was a sweetheart, but she was definitely high maintenance. His experience helping her learn to drive was proof enough of that.

"And even though I know that they all love me, I'm still afraid to share secrets with them. Not secrets like I accidentally ruined my mom's wedding dress. Secrets that are more personal. Things I wouldn't want anybody to ever find out. Especially my sisters."

"This is a place where it's okay to share all secrets. No one judges and nothing leaves this basement." Maggie said. "So don't hesitate. Just say anything and everything."

"Okay, here it goes." Lucy said, steeling herself. "I...I...I read Princess Pony! I know it's sickeningly sweet and super-girly, but I can't help it. I need breaks from the darkness every now and again. And...I like it a lot! The characters are so cute and nice, the stories are fun to read and it makes me feel...all warm and fuzzy inside!"

Lucy went silent after her outburst. Lincoln could see sweat running down his sister's face. He was shocked at how easily she came out and said it when he himself only got that detail from her after backing her into a corner. It made him proud of his younger sister to see her own up to something she liked, even though she risked ridicule. He only hoped that Maggie was honest when she said it was safe to share all secrets.

"That's all?" Emily scoffed. "Kid, you're eight. It's not that big of a surprise."

"She's right" Maggie said. "I used to read Princess Pony when I was your age. I grew out of it, but that didn't change that I liked it for a while. It was one of my favorites."

"It's still one of mine." Marcus said. "Guys can like that stuff too."

Lucy let out the breath she had been holding and felt a weight lift from her shoulders. And once she felt it gone, she smiled a little. It was one of the rare, yet genuine smiles Lincoln saw on her face. Only present when she was watching a gruesome horror movie or reading a good scary story. He was beginning to understand why Maggie had a party that seemed so odd now.

"Feel better?" Maggie asked, offering the plate of cookies to Lucy.

"Much, thanks." Lucy said, taking a cookie. "My big brother is the only other person I've told that to, and I wasn't too willing to do it at the time."

The group looked over at Lincoln, who quickly looked back down at his game and pretended to play it.

"Hey, kid." Maggie called out. "Can you come over here for a second?"

"Sure." Lincoln said putting his game in his pocket and walking over to the group "What can I do for you?"

"Lucy says that you're the only one who she's told about liking Princess Pony." Maggie said "Is that true?

"Kinda." Lincoln said "She didn't really tell me. I found out on my own."

"And you kept it secret for her?" Emily asked. "That's sweet of you."

"Lucy was embarrassed." Lincoln said "She's only eight. I'm sure she''ll be more confident in herself when she gets older. Sure, I had to miss my convention, but I'm just glad she didn't have to deal with our sisters teasing her."

"Hang on." Dennis said "What do you mean you missed your convention?"

"I was going to an Ace Savvy convention." Lincoln said. "But we all got grounded by our dad when Lucy's Princess Pony book got stuck in the toilet because no one would confess to it. So I told them it was mine so they wouldn't make fun of her. I got grounded by my dad for it, but it was worth it to help her out."

The emo kids stared at him "You..." Emily began slowly "You gave up something you wanted and took the fall for something you didn't do...just to help your sister?"

Lincoln shrugged. "Yeah" he said "It's no big deal. I can take the teasing from my sisters. And they'll be other conventions."

The kids looked around at each other, and back to Lincoln all with a look of utter disbelief on their faces.

"Wow" Natalie said. "My kid brother would never do something like that for me."

"Lincoln's always there for me." Lucy said "He always helps me write my poems. He helps me do my nails. He even helped me make friends with a boy named Rocky who likes a lot of the same things I do."

Maggie looked over at Lincoln curiously. Examining him closely as if she was trying to find something on him that he was trying to keep hidden. He looked back at Maggie, feeling a little nervous under the emo girl's gaze.

"What?" he asked.

"The two of you both live in the same house right?"

"Uh, yeah. We're siblings."

"So you have to deal with all of the same sisters she does" Maggie said. "So I'd bet you have some issues you could do with getting off your chest. How about joining us?"

"No thanks." Lincoln said " I'm just here as Lucy's chaperone. I wasn't even invited."

"Well you're here now. So just grab a soda and take a seat." Maggie said, patting the space next to her.

"Yeah man, you don't need to be shy." Marcus said.

"In case you weren't listening, this is a safe place to share your pain." Natalie added in.

"It helps, trust us." Francis said.

"Please Lincoln?" Lucy asked.

Lincoln hesitated. It was a tempting offer, but he wasn't so sure about opening up to strangers. But on the other hand, Lucy had no problem whatsoever with telling her big secret. So Lincoln didn't see the harm in saying a couple things. It wasn't like he was going to share everything, just a few little things that bugged him. That would be it, then he'd get back to playing his game. Once he found an outlet to charge it that is.

"Okay, but only because you insist." he said, taking a seat next to Maggie and picking a soda out of the cooler. "So I'm in pretty much the same boat as my little sister with all of our other sisters being judgmental and bugging me. I can't even get the time to read a comic book without worrying that one of them is going to burst into my room for some reason. I've had to try reading them in the air vents, but that's not exactly the most comfortable, or safe, place to do that."

"I hear ya." Francis said. "Giggles is always asking me to help her test her new jokes when I'm trying to read or watch tv."

"At least you don't have to compete with ten other people for the remote. Trying to get the tv on a Friday night is like trying to face a pro football team. One that scratches and bites and kicks."

"Sounds like my bratty brother." Natalie said.

"Sometimes I wish I had a brother. I honestly feel outnumbered in my own home!" Lincoln said. "We always try to go out as a group and do stuff together and we usually put it to a vote. Every time I lose to the votes to go shopping at the mall, or to go to the spa, or something else that I have next to no interest in! I even feel like I'm the scapegoat of the family sometimes. When Lucy accidentally clogged the toilet with her Princess Pony book, everyone blamed me for it!"

"Why?" Maggie asked.

"I may have been guilty of trying to dispose of a few unwanted items in the past. But it's still unfair that they didn't even have any proof but they all still stood there and gave me dirty looks for it! Do you know what it's like to have as many as ten pairs of eyes glaring at you?"

Dennis shuddered and pulled his hood over his head "Gives me stage fright just thinking about it" he said.

"Lori is so bossy and condescending!" Lincoln said "It's like she thinks she's entitled to everything she wants just because she's older than us. And she's says the word "literally" so much that sometimes I literally want to duct tape my ears down so I don't have to hear her say it anymore"

"I'll say" Lucy said in agreement.

"And Lisa is the only one I know who's more full of herself than Lori" Lincoln went on "Smarter than anyone and never misses a chance to point it out. Do you know how demeaning it is to ask your little sister to help you study for a class she's not old enough to take yet? To have a four year old look up at you and talk down to you at the same time?"

"Jeez" Maggie said "And I thought my mom's pet names were bad"

"The twins Lola and Lana are such a handful" Lincoln said "They're always fighting with each other and I'm the one of the few who breaks them up. So I usually get beat up trying to break them up."

"You get beat up by your little sisters?" Francis said "How old are they?"

"Six" Lucy said.

"No offense kid" he said. "But you can't handle a pair of six year olds?"

"Of course I can." Lincoln said. "I could kick both their butts if I tried. But why would I want to hurt them when I don't even want them to hurt each other? I mean, if Giggles got in a fight would you beat her up to make sure she doesn't get beat up by someone else?"

Francis thought for a moment "Fair point." he said.

"And Luan is a pranking-addict! First thing in the morning I need to make sure a bucket of water hasn't been precariously placed over my door! Not to mention whoopee cushions, joy buzzers, trip wires and more!"

"I can relate. Giggles does that too." Francis admitted.

"Plus Luan never misses a chance to make a pun. I'm surprised I can blink without her making a pun about it!"

"Give her time, she'll find a way." Lucy deadpanned.

"And my other older sister Lynn is another constant pain in my butt! She loves sports and almost always wants me to join her outside, but it's just not my thing. Not that it helps when she has to rub in each and every victory she has on me. Plus the dutch ovens. I HATE when she gives me a dutch oven."

"Gross." Maggie said, her nose wrinkling in disgust.

"Just give her one back!" Marcus insisted.

"I tried that once. She liked it so much she wanted to be my roommate. Has she ever tried to give you one Lucy?"

"She knows better." Lucy said. "I told her if she ever did, I would make spirits curse her with bad luck at every sport she plays. I can do the same for you if you want."

"That would be great, thanks. Now where was I? Oh, right. My other older sister Leni is alright. She's never really done anything that's upset me like some of my other sisters. But she's...how to put this nicely...not very bright. If anything I have to help her figure out simple things and explain stuff that she doesn't understand. It gets really old though."

"It does." Lucy said. "But at least she isn't as obnoxious as Luna can be."

"Luna is pretty nice though" Lincoln said "I mean sure, the loud guitar solos can get pretty grating but at least she doesn't use me as a guinea pig for science experiments. Or a wrestling dummy. Or a mannequin for clothes or makeovers. Or tests lame jokes on me."

"I dunno how she survives having Luan as a roommate" Lucy said

"Luan." Natalie repeated "Didn't you say she booby traps your house on April Fools Day?"

Lincoln and Lucy shivered as they remembered.

"Every April Fools day Luan sets up pranks in every single room of the house." Lincoln said "Every inch of our property is her territory. Nothing is safe. No one is safe. Not even us"

"Did you try leaving the house?" Maggie suggested.

"No" Lincoln said "But I tried locking myself in my room."

"Did it work?" Marcus asked.

"It would've," Lincoln said "If Luan hadn't called my girlf...uh...friend Ronnie Anne over and tricked me into taking every single prank to keep her safe."

There were gasps all around the room. "Your sister used your feelings against you?" Emily asked "All for a laugh? Wha...what kind of sister would do that? "

"Well it wasn't all bad." Lincoln said "I mean sure taking all those pranks was horrible. But I scored some major brownie points with Ronnie Anne. And she even hit Luan with a pie to get back at her."

"That girl sounds like a keeper." Francis said

"Dang it, I missed that part." Lucy said. "Wish I could've seen the look on Luan's face."

"Knowing her, she enjoyed it." Lincoln said. "But it was funny. Ronnie Anne was supposed to hit me with that pie. And I almost thought she would too. She did use to bully me a lot."

"Wait, your girlfriend bullied you?" Natalie asked.

"She's just my friend." Lincoln said. "And yeah, she used to pick on me. She tied my shoes together, pulled down my pants in the hall at school, put gum in my hair. She's even put sandwiches down my pants and stuffed my locker full of garbage!"

"How the heck did she go from being your bully to being your girlfriend?"

"Again she's just a friend." Lincoln emphasized with a blush. "And to answer your question, I decided to confront her. I told her to meet me outside my house after school. Originally I was going to just give her a piece of my mind but...things got complicated. My sisters found out I was being bullied and they all wanted to get involved, which was already annoying enough. No offense Lucy."

"None taken."

"But when my sisters found out a girl was the one picking on me, they got all excited. They said that she was doing it because she liked me!"

"Makes sense." Emily said, Maggie and Natalie nodding in agreement.

"I thought so too, although not at first." Lincoln said, "But when I thought about it, I was willing to believe them. So much so that when she came to my house, I went and kissed her instead of telling her off."

Lincoln paused, expecting teasing comments from the others. But none came. Instead they all seemed to be patiently waiting for him to continue. A couple of the girls seemed mildly more interested than the others, guessing at what happened next. Lucy, who had seen what occurred that day, did not share their sentiment.

"Tell them what happened next." She encouraged her brother.

"Well...she looked really surprised for all of two seconds. And then she glared at me and punched me in the eye."

The group flinched at the image. It was safe to say that none of them had expected that outcome. Many of them were now giving Lincoln sympathetic looks.

"I know what that's like." Francis said, pointing to his crooked tooth. "A girl who had a crush on me did this little number. I mean, yeah, she apologized. But that didn't change the fact that it hurt a lot."

"Yeah, but after she punched me, she did give me a written note saying she was sorry." Lincoln said. "After that we started to talk and became friends. It was pretty cool getting to know her, even if she did still pick on me from time to time."

"She still picks on you even though you're friends now?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, but not as often. Although once we started to hang out, I started to get teased by other guys because they all think that she is my girlfriend."

"Idiots." Dennis commented. "They make fun of you because you have a girlfriend now, but in a couple years they'll be making fun of any guy who doesn't have a girlfriend."

"She's not my..." Lincoln began but stopped "...oh forget it. Anyway, aside from that, things have been pretty cool with Ronnie Anne. She just gets a little scary sometimes when she's mad. And she can be a little rough around the edges, if you know what I mean. But I'm kinda used to that with ten sisters. They can get into a fight with each other almost every week and for the most part it's not so bad. Unless it ends up requiring the Sister Fight Protocol."

Lincoln shuddered. His memories of that awful incident where his entire home was thrown into a chaotic storm of angry siblings came flooding back to him. Even his parents had been ineffective to stop his sisters from fighting. It had been a very uncomfortable, and frightening, experience for him.

"What the heck is the Sister Fight Protocol?" asked Marcus.

"It's for when any of my sisters and I get into a fight. To keep the peace." Lucy answered.

"It's a long story." Lincoln admitted. "So if you really want to hear it, everyone should get another drink and some more snacks."

Some of the other kids took up the offer, grabbing some sweets and a new refreshment to go with them. Once they were all situated again, Lincoln started to tell the story of what happened one fateful day when his oldest sister Lori had just come home from the mall with a new dress. He had barely gotten partway into the story when they all began to look shocked, even angry. They had to resist the urge to interrupt him many times. Some almost gave in, but chose instead to wait until he was finished. And once Lincoln was done, they all spoke at once, voicing their grievances.

"Dude! That's just stupid! All that over a dress?!" Marcus said

"So nobody could even use the stinking bathroom? Who's the idiot that said that was okay?" Emily asked.

"Obviously not the parents." Dennis remarked. "They were too busy not doing their jobs."

"What makes those sisters of yours think it's okay to just go into your room to take your stuff? Having an argument, petty or otherwise is no excuse. They didn't even ask!" Natalie spat.

"The worst part is that it didn't even solve anything!" Francis pointed out. "They were fighting again almost immediately!"

"Yeah, but that was partially my fault for blabbing their secrets." Lincoln admitted.

"No." Maggie said. "It's not. You didn't do it on purpose. And besides, if they didn't want anyone to know their secrets, then they shouldn't have told anyone in the first place."

"When Lincoln tried to help it just made things worse" Lucy said "If he'd have just stayed out of it like we told him it wouldn't have gotten so bad."

"You really don't get it, do you?" Dennis said "Yeah, Lincoln made things worse when he tried to help. But in the end it's not his fault for interfering, it's all your faults for excluding him."

Though it couldn't be seen through her bangs, a look of confusion crossed Lucy's face. "What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Seems that this whole Sister Fight Protocol revolves around keeping Lincoln out while simultaneously dragging him in." Dennis said.

"The fight was stupid on its own." Maggie said "But it was even stupider that you all stole your brother's things and took over his room, but told him not to get involved."

"You all went out of your way to help your sisters avoid each other," Natalie said "But for some reason you wouldn't let him help keep the peace. You all just told him to keep out of it"

"You wouldn't let Lincoln take part in it from the jump." Emily said "So what choice did he have but to go in on his own?"

"He doesn't have a place in the Sister Fight Protocol." Marcus said "You wouldn't let him help. So its pretty much a given that he'd end up as part of the problem since you wouldn't let him be part of the solution."

"I...I didn't think of it like that." Lucy admitted with a hint of shame. "I'm sorry Lincoln."

"It's okay. You didn't mean it. Besides, it's water under the bridge by now."

"Yeah Lucy, don't fret over it. You're only eight after all." Maggie added. "But all of your older sisters should know better. That's horrible what they did."

"It was. I just wish that it was the worst thing they've done." Lincoln said.

"You aren't serious." Dennis said.

"What is the worst thing that they've done?" Emily asked, eyes narrowing.

"I got kicked out of my house. By my whole family. Sisters, parents, and even the pets too."

Dead silence overtook the basement. It was a bit eerie to Lincoln, the way that they were all gaping in shock. Lucy on the other hand was beginning to feel afraid. She may not have thought what occured with the Sister Fight Protocol was a big deal at first. But she knew what Lincoln was talking about, and it was a deep regret shared by her whole family. And considering the way everyone had reacted to the Sister Fight Protocol, she was nervous to hear what they would be saying about this.

"Okay, so let's just address the elephant in the room." Dennis said. "You're what? Eleven years old?"

Lincoln nodded.

"Then what they did was child abuse kid. It's not just immoral, it's illegal. Your parents should be in some really deep trouble for that."

"They weren't trying to hurt me, or even punishing me." Lincoln defended. "It was kinda my fault in a way. I made them all think I was bad luck."

"WHAT?!" they group cried out in unison.

"Could they have found a dumber reason?" Natalie asked.

"If they had done that to me, I would have run to the police the second I was out the door!" Emily said.

"And the award for most stupid, selfish decision ever goes to the Louds!" Marcus said.

"Please tell me that you are making this up."Dennis said. "I've lost enough of my faith in humanity."

Lincoln shook his head. "I slept outside two nights in a row. I-it wasn't so bad."

"Dude, bull-crap!" Francis spat. "That is pure bull-crap!"

"How did all of this even start?" Maggie asked.

"Well, my older sister Lynn had a softball game and she wanted me to go. I wasn't really interested, but I had skipped all of the other games she had that season and she wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. She even threatened me with a bat."

"I'd ask what your parents thought of that, but I've already got a pretty good idea how well they handle problems after you told us about that 'protocol' incident." Dennis said.

"Yeah, but that aside..." Lincoln said. "I went to the game and my sister's team lost. I went to tell her I was sorry that it happened and she freaked out on me. She blamed me for her loss, saying that I was bad luck. Because she didn't lose any other game that season until I came to watch that day."

"Sore. LOSER." Emily said. "I'm liking this girl less and less."

"It doesn't stop there, she told Leni that I was bad luck the next day. Then Leni told my little sister Lana and from there they all ended up learning about it. Although it didn't help that I kinda helped to spread the word. It was a good way to get out of going to all of their activities, so I could do the stuff that I wanted to do."

Maggie scoffed. "That doesn't change the fact that they all bought it and then treated you so badly."

"I guess so. And then things started to get worse. At first they only didn't ask me to go to their events. But then I had to eat meals alone in a different room. After that I was starting to get bored, and then lonely. Then I couldn't go with them to family activities like the movies or going to the beach. I wasn't allowed in my room and then the next thing I know I was sleeping outside. I told them the truth and apologized, but they still didn't believe me and I was desperate to just be with them again!"

Tears started to gather in the corners of Lincoln's eyes and then stream down his cheeks. He sniffled a little and Maggie offered him a tissue. With a quiet 'thank you' Lincoln accepted one and blew his nose. He took a second one to wipe the tears from his face and then he took a deep breath before continuing.

"I snuck into my sister Lynn's next softball game, wearing their team's mascot suit. I hid in plain sight the entire game, hoping that after Lynn won I could finally prove that I wasn't bad luck. But they were starting to lose in the final inning and I was starting to think that I really was back luck after all. But they pulled a last minute win and I finally got to reveal myself to my family. Lynn apologized and they all did too. But it wasn't quite what I hoped for."

"How do you mean?" Dennis asked.

"They thought that I was good luck, but only when in the mascot suit."

"Uh, sorry, but was your family trying to be stupid?" Natalie said. "Because that's the kind of thing I'd expect from somebody trying to be stupid."

"How long until you finally cleared your name?" Emily asked.

"About a week or so. I had to wear that dumb suit everywhere. Around the house, in bed, and even to school. And no, that wasn't any fun. I still get called 'Squirrel-boy' sometimes."

"You also had to wear it when we went to the beach that day." Lucy timidly added.

"Yeah, that was even less fun then at school. Oh, and one other thing I forgot. Since I was out of the house for a while, they sold all my furniture."

*CLINK-pssshhhhh*

The room had gone so quiet that the sound of someone dropping their can of of soda was as loud out a car horn. Lincoln looked around at the group of teens. Save for Lucy, each one had the same look on their face. A jaw dropped so low that it nearly touched the floor. Marcus was the first to find his voice

"How..." he began "How could they...I mean...how could you..."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes tightly as he tried to gather his thoughts in a way that his mouth could express them.

"Seriously" Emily said flatly "Why haven't you called the cops on them yet?"

Dennis turned to Lucy "He can't be serious." he said "This has gotta be some kind of sick joke."

Lucy shook her head as the guilt and shame began to rise up "We bought it all back for him." she said timidly.

"Bought it all back?" Natalie repeated "You guys shouldn't have sold it in the first place. How could you treat your own brother like that?"

"Bad luck" Francis said "I...I can't believe your sisters and your parents...your family froze you out over something so stupid. You can't expect everything to go right for you all the time. And you can't just blame somebody when things go wrong for you!. It's a stupid excuse!"

Lincoln lowered his head as the memories "Well at least it's over now" he said.

"OVER?' Marcus said in a rage filled voice "IT SHOULDN'T EVEN HAVE HAPPENED! YOUR SISTER THREW YOU UNDER THE BUS! SHE USED YOU AS A SCAPEGOAT INSTEAD OF ADMITTING THAT SHE CAN'T WIN ALL THE TIME. WHAT KIND OF SISTER WOULD DO THAT!?"

Marcus huffed and puffed trying to catch his breath. Once he calmed he turned to Lincoln

"I'm not saying that it was right to try and trick your family" he said. "Because it wasn't. But you shouldn't have had to go through all that just because you wanted some time to yourself. And it was just plain wrong for your sister to blame you for her loss. So as far as I'm concerned, everything that happened to you was her fault."

Lincoln sighed "I guess" he said.

*Sniff...snivel...sob*

Lincoln looked to his left to see tears slowly falling from Maggie's eyes.

"Are you OK?" Lincoln asked.

"Yeah." she said wiping her eyes and smudging her mascara "It...it's just allergies."

Maggie blew her nose and tossed the soggy tissue in the trash before pulling another from the box. She wiped away the moisture collected around her eyes and then took another tissue to clean up the smeared mascara. After discarding the soiled tissues she took a deep breath and regained her composure.

"That had better be the worst of it. I don't think I can handle anything that beats that for 'most horrible thing I've ever heard'."

"Same here." Francis said.

"Well, there isn't anything worse..." Lincoln began.

"Hallelujah." Emily said dryly.

"But there are more of the little things I'd like to get off of my chest. If that's okay."

"Go ahead"Maggie told him "The more you share, the better you'll feel."

"Sometimes I wonder..." Lincoln said "Do I really have a place in my family? Mom and Dad have more in common with my sisters than me so...sometimes I don't really like myself. I wish I could be..."

"More like your sisters?" Emily suggested

"No" Lincoln said "I'm too much like them already."

"What do you mean?" Dennis asked

Lincoln opened his mouth, but closed it and shut his eyes tightly. Maggie put a hand on his shoulder.

"Its OK, Lincoln." she said. "We won't laugh or judge you."

"None of it leaves the basement, kid." Natalie said. "So you'd best get it out while you can."

Lincoln looked up at the teenagers, then over to his sister. She nodded her head, and made a zipping motion over her lips. He bit down on his lower lip for a moment, and took a deep breath.

"I sleep with a stuffed bunny." he said. "I watch The Dream Boat. I've baked strawberry muffins in a frilly pink apron. Touching, romantic shows make me cry. I know more about fashion, sewing, cosmetics and spa treatments than any boy and even most girls my age. I shouldn't be into any of that stuff. I'm a boy and boys don't...I mean...aren't suppose to like any of that."

"Says who?" Francis said. "So you're in touch with your feminine side. That's not a crime, Lincoln."

"I know." Lincoln said " I just wish I was...more manly. I mean, sometimes I feel like I'm more girly than most of the girls at my school."

"So what?" Marcus said "I mean just look at me Francis,and Dennis. We're guys with dyed hair who wear makeup. And we're here so we can cry and express our emotions. There's nothing wrong with being sensitive."

"Real men can express their feelings instead of pretending that they don't have them." Emily said.

"I've heard that before." Lincoln said with a shrug. "But there's already ten girls in my house. eleven if you count my mom. I already feel outnumbered along with feeling too girly. It's not just that sometimes I feel like the oddball of the family. Each of my sisters is amazing and unique in their own way. We have a trophy case in my house and all of my sisters have awards that they've won. Even my baby sister Lily has won trophies!"

"I bet none of those awards say 'Best sister in the world'." Natalie muttered.

"Unless by 'best' you mean conceited, cruel or sadistic." Dennis added.

Lincoln paid no mind to the interruption. "The only trophy I have in there is one that says 'most improved brother' on it. But it felt like something I got out of pity. I didn't really earn it at all. My sisters gave it to me because I made a big mistake and I made a big sacrifice to fix it. I wouldn't even have gotten it if I hadn't screwed up in the first place so I don't feel like it means anything"

"What did you do?" Marcus asked.

"I was trying to win a contest for most popular video at school. My original idea failed so I kind of...posted a series of embarrassing moments of my sisters. It was really popular, but it made them all really, really mad at me. So I deleted the video and then uploaded one full of my own embarrassing moments so we'd be even."

Natalie snorted. "Wait, I remember that video! My brother wouldn't stop watching it. You really did that because of the video you uploaded of your sisters?"

Lincoln nodded. "I didn't actually have their permission. It only seemed fair."

"I totally understand." Natalie said. "And I actually think that was both pretty brave and cool of you. Sorry for laughing just now. And all the times I watched your video."

"It's okay. I deserved to be laughed at for what I did back then. But to get back to my point, I just feel overwhelmed sometimes because of all of my sisters. Seeing them everyday makes me feel so plain. So dull and boring. Each of them is good at something and I'm just...not. I used to think of what it would be like if I was an only child. If life would be better. But lately I'm wondering more and more if maybe, maybe they'd be better off without me."

Lucy turned to looked at Lincoln so quickly, that her hair moved enough to make the look of shock on her face visible. She stared at her brother for a moment before she suddenly found herself standing up. Her fists clenched and fresh, hot tears started to leak from the corners of her eyes. In an uncharacteristic motion she stomped her foot down, quickly gaining the attention of all the others.

"DON'T SAY THAT! NEVER, EVER SAY THAT AGAIN LINCOLN!"

"L-Lucy..." her brother gasped in sheer awe.

"You think that any of your sisters would be better off without you? You actually believe that?" the goth asked, her voice sounding hurt. "Well I don't! Maybe I can't speak for any of our nine sisters, but I know that I'm not better off without you! You're my big brother and I love you! You may not realize it, but to me you're more amazing than all of our sisters combined! You're the only one who listens to me, who takes time to help me with little things like finding rhyming words for my poems. You can actually stop and think about others before you do something that could hurt their feelings! That's a heck of a lot more that I can say for some of our sisters!"

"I...I'm sorry Lucy." Lincoln said, letting his sister's words sink in. "I didn't know that you felt that way."

"And that's my fault. I don't tell you those things because I'm not good at sharing my feelings without writing them down as a poem. But what you said...it scares me Lincoln. And that's coming from someone who finds comfort in the dark and finds entertainment with the macabre. The thought of losing my big brother, is my biggest fear. You mean the world to me. I need you."

Lucy extended her arms, offering her big brother a hug. Lincoln looked into his sibling's face, fresh tears still streaming down her pale cheeks. His own eyes became misty and he stepped forward, accepting his sister's embrace and returning it full force. Then there was suddenly another set of arms around them. Then another and then another. Lincoln soon found himself in the middle of a massive group hug with all of the teens. Many of them had tears of their own and Lincoln saw Maggie sniffling.

"Allergies bugging you again?" he asked.

"No, I'm crying this time."Maggie said hotly "You two are making me cry!"

Lincoln twitched uncomfortably for a moment, before looked around at the wet eyed teenagers. All of them dealing with their own pressures and pain, but shedding tears over his. Taking the time to comfort him when they all needed comfort warmth and solace of the gesture set in, starting in the pit of his stomach and spread throughout his body. As he looked over at one of the posters on the wall, he settled into the group hug as he read it

"I guess misery does love company" he thought.

The kids broke the hug and spread out after a few moment.

"Feel better?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah" Lincoln said "A lot."

"Don't sound so surprised." Maggie said. "A good cry can do wonders for your attitude. Like the invite says. Scream and cry get angry or sad..."

"You can never feel better if you don't feel bad" Lincoln finished.

He looked over at his sister, who smiled back "Thanks again for coming here with me." she said.

"I should be thanking you." Lincoln said "I got way more out of this than just making headway on my videogame!"

*KNOCK KNOCK*

The kids turned to look at the door as a cheery voice came from the other side.

"Maggie" said her mothers voice. "Sorry if I'm interrupting, but Lucy and Lincoln's Mother is here to pick them up."

"OK mom." she said "We're on our way up."

She looked over at the two Louds "I'll see you guys out." he said "C'mon."

Maggie led them up the stairs and out of the basement. Before she shut the door, a loud noise rang out.

*BOOM* BOOM *BOOM*

"What was that?" Lincoln asked.

"Marcus likes to pop the balloons." Maggie said. "He says it's good stress relief." She stuck her head through the door "You better leave me some in here!"

"This was a lot of fun." Lucy said in her usual flat tone.

"It really was." Lincoln agreed.

Maggie stopped right buy a mirror mounted on the wall and frowned at her reflection "Why do I bother putting on eyeliner when I'm just going to ruin it when I cry?" she grumbled.

"I think I could help you with that." Lincoln said.

He reached into his sock and pulled out an eyeliner pencil. Maggie raised and eyebrow questioningly.

"Do you always carry make-up supplies with you?" she asked.

"I have ten sisters," he reminded her "It's force of habit thanks to them."

Lincoln motioned for Maggie to come closer and reapplied her eyeliner. She looked at her self in the mirror.

"You're really good at that, you know?" Maggie said. "Just another reason you should be happy to be in touch with your feminine side."

"If you say so." Lincoln said as he put the pencil back in his sock.

Maggie opened the front door for them, where they saw Vanzilla waiting outside.

"Just so you know" Maggie said "I have Pity Parties every other Saturday. So you're both welcome to come if you want."

"We might just take you up on that offer." Lucy said.

"And Lincoln" Maggie said "Could you...do me a favor?"

"Sure" he said.

A slight red tinge formed on her pale face "Your sister." Maggie said "The one that you performed with on my birthday...could you...tell her I said hi?"

"I tell her as soon as we get home" Lincoln said.

The redness on her face deepened a bit "Thanks." she said "I'll see you later."

And with that, she closed the door. The two loud children went over to where their mother was parked by the sidewalk and hopped into Vanzilla. They sat in the row behind their mother and buckled their seat belts. Mrs. Loud began to drive back towards their house, peeking at her children in the rear view mirror for a quick moment.

"So, did you kids have fun?" she asked.

"Loads of fun." Lucy said.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool." Lincoln added. "She even said she has parties like that every other week. Is it okay if we go again next time?"

"Well, as long as Maggie's mother is okay with it. But you two have to make sure to keep up with your homework and your chores if you expect to do this on a biweekly basis. Think you can do that you two?"

"Sure!" Lincoln said.

"I can live with that. It'll be worth it. Thanks mom." Lucy monotoned.

"I'm going to hold you to that. So make sure you keep up your end of the bargain."

The rest of the ride home went by quickly and soon the three were back inside their home. Lincoln and Lucy went upstairs to their respective rooms and resumed their usual activities. Lincoln plugged in his game charger and got ready to resume playing his game. Now that he was feeling better, he was ready to conquer another few levels before the night was through. In a matter of seconds he became fully immersed in his game.

"Hey Lincoln."

The white haired boy jumped, his heart racing. He turned to see Lucy sitting on his bed, having gotten in past him without his noticing, despite the fact that his door was closed. He made a mental note to ask his younger sister how she did that later. Right now it was obvious that she must want something.

"Oh, hey Lucy. What's up?"

"Sorry to bother you, I know you want to get back to your game. But I needed to apologize. For something other than bothering you right now, I mean."

"What do you need to apologize for?" He asked with genuine interest.

"It occurred to me today that you've had a lot of things bothering you for a while now. And I've been a part of that, even if only because I never noticed that you were suffering. I may be your little sister, but I still need to be there for you. So, if there's ever a time you need a shoulder to cry on, you know where to find me. And if I ever do anything that bothers you again, don't hesitate to let me know. I don't want to cause you any more problems if I can help it."

"Aw, thanks Luce." Lincoln said. "Okay, I'll let you know anytime something is bugging me. But you've got to promise that you'll do the same. It's only fair."

"Deal." Lucy said, a small smile forming on her face. "I'll leave you to your game now. Have fun."

Lucy went to leave Lincoln's room. But as she reached for the door, Lincoln stopped her. She looked at him in confusion and he smiled in return.

"Actually, I just had an idea." he said. "How about we watch a movie on my laptop together? Clyde recommended a good vampire versus zombies slasher that I've been meaning to watch. I know it's not the same as the 'Vampires of Melancholia'. But..."

"But nothing." Lucy cut in. "Anything with both vampires and zombies is good enough for me. But we'll need snacks."

"You read my mind." Lincoln said, opening his door for her. "After you my spooky little sister."

"How chivalrous of you."

"Yeah, I know how much you like dead things. Shall we?"

He extended his arm out to her in a gentlemanly fashion. She accepted the offer and the two went down to the kitchen to seek out something to snack on while watching the movie. Some of their sisters were gathered in the living room, battling over the remote and making a lot of noise. But the two paid them no mind. Not that it mattered, even if their siblings did manage to pester them, they had a newfound confidence in each other that would help them weather any sibling related chaos. Or at least keep them afloat until they could attend the next pity party together.


End file.
